Food Photo Friday - Macaron Cafe NYC

While I was in NYC a couple months ago, I was on the search for some macarons. There was one place I had bookmarked, but I didn't get to try it til our last day. It took me FOREVER to find this place because I kept getting lost // kept walking to the wrong street.. LOL I'm terrible with directions! But when I finally found this place and bit into one of these chewy morsels, my stomach and heart were truly satisfied. 

A fellow foodie friend, Shelley, tweeted about this article, Airy Macarons That Rise Above the Rest (courtesy of NY Times), that was about the macaron craze going on in NYC right now. I was surprised Macaron Cafe wasn't on the list. But no fear... They SOON will be! ;]

Not only were these the BEST macarons I ever ate, they were breathtakingly beautiful. My favorite was the peanut butter macaron. Two things I love in one. YAY! 

Macaron Cafe
161 West 36th Street
New York, NY 10018
&
625 Madison Ave. Entrance on 59th Street
New York, NY 10022

I just realized that they ship nationwide. Now I can have these lovely macarons anytime I want without paying for that plane ticket!

You can place your order here if you'd like to try these heavenly macarons.

Happy eatings!! =)

Food Photo Friday - Pumpkin Gooey Cake

Whoever came up with this cake is genius. The person who made this cake is more of a genius; because she knew what I was craving. I've been wanting pumpkin cheesecake for quite some time. What better way to eat it then to slap it on some yellow cake. I love this cake because it reminds me of the holidays (which are approaching very soon!) From what I know, the top of this cake consists of pumpkin puree and cream cheese. The bottom layer is yellow cake mix, eggs, and butter. Match made in dessert heaven. Thank you, Megan Dang!!

ALL GONE! =D

Happy eatings!! =)

Best Thing I Ever Ate: Burgers

I love the show "Best Thing I Ever Ate." I wish I could be like my favorite chefs and be featured on the show, but sadly I'm not.... BUT I CAN blog about it! =)  I've had burgers from famous burger joints like Five Guys, Mighty Fine, In-N-Out, Carl's JR. and Fat Burger. But these burgers cannot compare to one of the best burger joints in Austin, TX. Which place do you ask? HOPDODDY! Even the name is cool!

Hopdoddy Burgers
1400 S Congress Street Suite 190A
Austin, TX 78705
(Even has a free parking garage!!)

Their beef patties are made from hormone & antibiotic free moo cows and they grind their meat daily. Their buns are made from scratch and are baked more than once a day. Not only that, their fries are handcut from these amazing little potatoes called Kennebec potatoes. I've never had fries this good... Especially from handcut fries. They have the right amount of seasoning and crunch. Can't have soggy fries! 

The first time I went to Hopdoddy, my hubby and I got the Llano Poblano (beef patty, pepper jack cheese, roasted poblano chiles, apple-smoked bacon, and chipotle mayo) and the Peking Duck burger (one of the burger specials at the time). Have ya'll ever had peking duck? If you like it the Chinese way, you'll love it the Hopdoddy way! It was amazing tasty and the duck breast patty was so moist. I keep hoping the burger will make its way back to Hopdoddy. Hopefully SOON! =P

I went with my friends yesterday and had the original burger. I was kinda on a budget and didn't feel like getting anything too extravagant. I'm so glad I got the original burger bc it was way better than any other "original" burger I've had at other places. Don't get me wrong... I do love me some In-N-Out, but you can taste the love and attention that goes into the Hopdoddy burgers. 

My Original w/ Cheeeeeeeese

My Friend's Buffalo Bill w/ Fries

Chili Cheese Fries

Terlingua Burger making a cameo in the back ;]

SO much food. We pretty much gave up on the fries since there were 5 of us, 5 burgers and 3 orders of fries lol...

If you haven't tried Hopdoddy yet, I suggest you do so! There is some thing for everybody here. And if there's a line, it's worth the wait. The fresh, delicious burgers are to die for. You're gonna want to keep coming back after that first bite! =)

Happy Eatings!

Food Photo Friday - Homemade Lemon Madeleine Cookies

My honey has always been in love with these cookies. We used to buy them in the little packages at Starbucks (the sea shell shaped cookies) and he kept wanting me to make them at home. I finally found a recipe a couple months ago courteous of Food.com and have perfected my little lemon madeleine cookies. Maybe you can make some for your friends and family. They will surely enjoy them... All of mine do! =)

Recipe:
2 large eggs
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Pinch of salt
1 cup all purpose flour
10 tablespoons melted butter; slightly cooled

Lemon glaze: (I usually just eyeball the ingredients)
Approx. 2 cups powdered sugar
2 to 1 ratio of lemon juice to water (i.e.; 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 1 tablespoon water)
I just mix it until the glaze is slightly runny

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Step 1: Beat eggs and sugar together

Step 2: Add vanilla extract, lemon zest, and salt and combine

Step 3: Add cup of flour and mix until combined

 

 It'll be really thick like this

Step 4: Drizzle butter in slowly while mixing

Step 5: Spray mini cupcake pans w/ cooking spray and dust with flour so the cookies don't stick to the pan

Step 6: Use a tablespoon measuring spoon and scoop in the madeleine mixture. I usually scoop just a bit shy of a tablespoon because the mixture will puff up

Bake for about 10 minutes, just until the edges are brown

Take the cookies out of the pans immediately so they can cool...

Leaving the cookies in the pan for too long will cause them to overcook and become hard.

Directions for the glaze:

Mix the powdered sugar with the lemon juice and water until the glaze is slightly runny. You don't want the glaze to be too runny because it'll run right off the cookies

After the cookies have cooled a bit, dip the tops of the cookies into the glaze and let the glaze set.

And voila! You come out with these lovely, delicious, little morsels of GOODNESS.

Hope y'all will enjoy these as much as I do;

The reactions from your family and friends will make you feel great.

But beware: once they taste them once, they'll keep wanting more and more! =)

Happy eatings!

Food Photo Friday - Ippudo NY

Best. Ramen. Ever.

In NYC I had the best ramen I've ever had in my whole entire life. There's not may places in Austin with ramen. So when I saw this place on Yelp, I knew I had to drag my hubby here. The place was nice and cozy since it was a little small. There was a huge crowd and the wait was about an hour to an hour&a half. The lovely hostess told us it would probably be less because people would leave (which would bump us up on the list!!!). Hubby and I decided this place must be worth it, so we stuck it out and waited. Luckily we only waited about 30-40 minutes. The staff was amazingly friendly. The food was even better! It was like a party in my mouth. I definitely recommend Ippudo if you're in NYC!

Ippudo NY
65 4th Ave.
New York, NY 10003

Hirata Buns

Pork belly buns w/ Ippudo's Spicy Bun Sauce

Honey's Akamaru Ramen w/ Kakuni (Pork Belly)

My Karaka Miso Ramen w/ Soft Poached Egg

"Matcha Brulee" 

Green Tee Creme Brulee w/ Green Tea Gelato

Hehehee =P

My love and I <3

I miss NYC.. I want more Ramen. Wish we had Ramen like this in Austin. It would be a HIT!!!

Happy eatings!!!! =D

Food Photo Friday - BonChon Chicken

I hate travelling some times because when you get back home, you can no longer eat those delicious foods you had while on vacation. This is exactly how I feel when it comes to BonChon Chicken... Besides being able to escape reality, BonChon is what I miss the most from NYC. On our second night, we decided to try BonChon for dinner. I put on some hott heels hubby got me, but man oh man I did not know that they would hurt so much. Especially when BonChon was a mile away from our hotel room. But once I started eating those chicken wings, all the pain was worth it. 

BonChon Chicken (Multiple Locations)

207 W. 38th Street

New York, NY 10018

Chicken Combo -- Two drumsticks + Wings (Soy Garlic & Spicy)

Sides: Picked Daikon, Kimchi, Rice

&& Those are not beers, just beer glasses ;) teehee!

Best fried chicken I've ever had!!!

Two thumbs up!!!!

Hope I can go back SOON. I miss NYC so much! Maybe not all the weight I gained, but I miss the city!

Maybe when I'm baller enough, I can franchise my own BonChon in Austin, TX!!! =D

Happy eatings! <3

Food Photo Friday - Joe's Shangai

AHH! It's my first day in NYC and I'm super excited. I'm really tired though! So I'm gonna try to make this quick. We got into NYC around 4 o'clock and were stuck in traffic for a good while. We got to our hotel around 5:30 and after we checked in and got situated, we headed out to NYC in search for dinner. ALLLLL of my friends have been raving about Joe's Shangai so we decided it would be a good meal after a long flight (long in my terms since I HATE flying!) There are a couple locations in New York, but we went to the one closest to our hotel.

Joe's Shanghai
24 W 56th Street
New York, New York 10019

Dipping sauces

Left: For pan fried dumplings

Right: For soup dumplings

Pan Fried Pork Dumplings $7

Soup Dumplings $9

Soup dumplings? I asked the waiter if soup came WITH the dumplings. I didn't think it was so literal. It's all in the name. SOUP. DUMPLINGS. The soup is IN the dumplings!!!!!! FUCKING AMAZEBALLS MAN!!!

Best dumplings I've ever eaten!

More NYC sightings & eatings to come!

Happy eatings!!!!!

Food Photo(s) Friday - Roll On Sushi Diner

I went on a lovely date with my friend Amy D. on Tuesday. I wanted to try Roll On Sushi and she's been there a couple of times, so she was the best person to go with! When I got there, the staff was SUPER friendly. Everyone introduced themselves and made me feel right at home. I also got to meet Chip, one of the owners. And like every one else, Chip was kind in welcoming me to the restaurant. Had an amazing experience and I can't wait to go back!!

Roll On Sushi Diner
5350 Burnet Rd. Suite #2
Austin, TX 78756
(Right in the AMLI apartment building)
They even have free parking... WOO HOO!

Edamame... Salty & Buttery. Just the way I like it!

Dy-No-Mite Roll

(Crab, shrimp tempura, cucumber, avocado, cream cheese, scallions, & spicy mayo)

Really good. Just the right amount of sushi for me!

Special Roll: The Panther Roll 

Named after one of the team members.. Thought that was sweet!

(Spicy tuna, crab mix with jalapeno tempura on top along with spicy sauce, eel sauce, & chili strings)

This place is amazing! So happy I got to try a new place with Amy <3

Happy eatings!!! =)

Food Photo(s) Friday - AFin Japanese Tapas

I'm speechless. This place is just that good. Go try it, friends. PLEASE. You won't regret it. Also, ask for Renee to be your waitress. She'll make the experience just that much better.


AFin Japanese Tapas
6519 N Lamar Blvd.
Austin, TX 78752

Garlic Edamame

Lump Crab Cake & Mushroom Balls

Flyingfish Roe

Seared Scallops w/ Wasabi Tobiko

Exotic Roll

Jalapeno Roll

Land & Sea Roll

Mr. Smith Roll

Happy Julie

Happy Jonhnny

Lime & Ginger Crème Brûlée

Just waiting for the moment where I can have these tasty morsels in my mouth again...

(For full size photos, please check them out on my Flickr.. Thanks!)

Happy Eatings!!!